The Film Daily (1945)

Thursday, September 20, 1945 = <3fe 15 Urges Films Set Industrial Democracy Example Johnston WarnsDemocratic Capitalism Cannot Be Maintained Without It (Continued from Page 1) >of his election. The plan for the institute is one of a broad five-point platform upon which Johnston will base his administration. "War taught the industry the value of united, co-operative effort," Johnston said. "All elements of the industry — producers, distributors, exhibitors, representatives of the actors, directors and writers' guilds and the craft unions — worked together in the manifold war activities. This co-operative effort must be carried over into peace. Our purpose is to work with all these elements to form a Motion Picture Institute so that the industry can assume its full share of the responsibility of promoting peace and better living. "Nothing like this has ever been attempted in any American industry in peacetime. It is the natural evolution of political into industrial democracy. We cannot maintain democratic capitalism without industrial democracy. The motion picture industry can set the example." Johnston said that the proposal was merely another way of saying that "we Americans must learn to live together, to work together and above all to talk to one another as though we were residents of the same planet." He added that "an America divided will never lead the way to a world united" and that "we cannot be good neighbors until we learn to get along with ourselves." A second objective will be a greatly expanded research program. Johnston said it should be a co-operative program for the benefit of the entire industry. Such research, he explained, naturally will involve countless facets to improve the film, the theater, methods and techniques. Greater use of pictures in the educational field will be fully explored. A third step, Johnston pointed out, concerns foreign markets of which, as practical business men, "we shall want, of course, a fair share." He said America had no artificial barriers against motion pictures from abroad and that "in this same spirit, we expect that other countries will not erect barriers against American pictures." Free interchange of motion pictures is the best means to bring the people of the world closer together, he said. As to the fourth objective, Johnston asserted that "enlightened selfdiscipline by the industry is, and will continue to be, the surest guarantee against Government censorship and regulation." He said that the industry by trial and error had earned that decent, clean and truthful entertainment was most surely and permanently successful. Declaring that the lesson had been learned, Johnston said it was the job tf WuxtryU! Motion Picture Research Society Finds Washington Worse Than HollytcoodH! Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Sharp protest against credits to England was sent Secretary of the Treasury Fred M. Vinson Monday by the Motion Picture Research Society, Inc., of St. Paul, Minn. Writing Vinson that the Society is turning its attention to Washington because "things are getting worse in Washington than in Hollywood, if possible," the Society registered a sharp protest against "the lending of any more money to England until they make some settlement of the 29 billions they have already borrowed from us. "It is ridiculous that they do not intend to cancel their 15 billion indebtedness to their own dominions," Vinson was told, "and then cancel our debts and ask for more money ... we are just plain suckers." Head of the Society and signer of the letter is Roland L. Hill, Joseph C. Lenihan is vice-president and Mrs. Dora N. Ruud, secretary-treasurer. AFL Heads Deadlocked On Studio Strike (Continued from Pa^e 1) ing, mopping his brow, remarked: "It's tough — but, frankly, I'm hopeful." The meeting will be resumed this morning. Closeted with AFL President Williain Green, who is attempting to serve as arbitrator in the dispute, were Ed. J. Brown of the Electricians, William H. Cooper of the Building Service Employes, Morris Hutcheson of the Carpenters, L. P. Lindelof of the Painters, William C. O'Neill of the Plumbers, Harvey W. Brown of the Machinists and Richard F. Walsh, lATSE head who is understood to be resisting pressure from his colleagues to revoke the charters of several new locals in the pix industry. NLRB Strike Ballot Decision About Ready Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Decision from the NLRB on the Hollywood strike ballots can be expected this week, an official of the Board said yesterday, while at AFL headquarters President William Green was closeted with leaders of the opposing factions ir the strike in an attempt to work out a solution. The Boar-d has been considering the case for several days, it said, and is now about ready to issue its decision. No definite time for the decision can be set, but tomorrow if a good possibility. of all in the industry and outside to see that it was not forgotten. The fifth objective will be to strive to make the motion picture an important adjunct to our whole educational system, not only in the schools but in the field of adult education and specifically in the re-training of the veterans and war workers. Here, he said, is a limitless opportunity for the motion picture. "It is our aim," Johnston said, "to foster an industry program which will make motion pictures an even better reflection of the American design of living. This cannot be accomplished by crude, brute force propaganda, by boastful chest-thumping oyer Retention of Federal Tkkef Tax Advocated (Continued from Page 1) for excise taxes, the report says, indicating that most of them should be retained with the wartime increases lopped off. The over-all recommendations of the Committee call for a transition period of two or three years, with reductions to be in force through this period, and then cite the need for further reduction and stabilization during the "long-range post-war period." Dropping of the three per cent normal tax on personal incomes during the transition period is called for, with a single tax rate to be set up. Immediate repeal of the excess profits tax, the capital stock tax and the declared value excess profits tax is called for, and gradual reduction of the corporate normal tax and surtax, with application of lower rates on small corporations. For the longer period, the Committee suggests individual taxes beginning at from 15 to 20 per cent, with the rates mounting to from 49 to 54 per cent on income between $75,000 and $100,000 and up to 72 per cent at the million dollar income level. "Doc" Doherty, Warner's Exchange Auditor, Dead H. M. (Doc) Doherty, 51, auditor of exchanges for Warners and one of the oldest employees of the company, which he joined 25 years ago, died late Tuesday night at his home in Lynbrook, L. I. Doherty, a veteran of World War I, served with the 77th Division in France. Survivors include his wife, two sons, a daughter and two brothers. One of his brothers, Eddie, was a Warner exchange employee before going into the Navy after Pearl Harbor. our superior way of doing things. Rather, the program will depend upon a faithful portrayal of all the natural forces of day-to-day life around us." FCC Worried Over 2 Tele Possibilities Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Although final regulations for television, including the allocation of frequencies among metropolitan, rural and in-between stations, is due to be brought out within another few weeks, officials of the FCC are privately concerned about two things which may render these regulations an academic affair within a comparatively brief period. The first is the suspicion in some quarters that wide-band polychrome tele, which has been assigned frequencies above 480 megacycles for developmental work only, may be ready for commercial exploitation before the six-megacycle service has become firmly established. If this should happen, however, the Commission properly takes the attitude that investors in the monochrome service have had voluminous warnings and that the Commission decided to set up frequencies for the narrow-band service only after heavy pressure by industry representatives. Tele by Reflection The second cause for concern was not foreseen at the time of last year's allocation hearings. That is the plan announced last month by Westinghouse to reflect tele and FM beams from cruising planes, thereby permitting a single transmitter to cover an area which might blanket several metropolitan areas and a broad rural reach. There is apparently no objection to this plan by the civil aviation authorities, although they have not been directly approached on the matter. So long as the cruising planes are high enough (the plan is to keep them at 30,000 feet) and stay away from busy air-lanes, the only CAB interest would be in inspecting the planes to be sure that they meet all safety requirements, an official said yestei'day. New Giant Problem? The Westinghouse application, submitted to the FCC last month, has not been filed yet, pending additional infoi'mation, and there has been no formal discussion of the matter at the Commission. Privately, however, members do not see that they will have good cause to turn down applications for such an operation, even though the wide coverage by single stations which would result would effectively skirt the Commission limitations on multipleownership of stations. Actually, however, the present powerful clearchannel standard broadcast stations accomplish this same thing. What the Commission is sure of, however, is that if the Westinghouse plan is put into operation and proves feasible they will be faced with a new and giant problem of providing frequencies. Whether it will mean a sharp drop in the overall number of frequencies to be needed is a question no one can yet answer.